Health Ministry to get AMD 109 billion: What programs will be implemented?

It is planned to allocate at least AMD 109 billion 14.6 million to the healthcare sector of Armenia in 2020 instead of AMD 89 billion 590 million in 2019, said Armenian Health Minister Arsen Torosyan at a joint meeting of the standing parliamentary commissions during the preliminary discussion of the draft state budget for 2020.

According to him, the health policy in the coming year will be aimed at maintaining public health, preventing diseases, increasing the availability and quality of medical services and increasing the birth rate and average life expectancy.

The funds received from the state budget will be directed to the following programs:

• 8% of the healthcare budget (AMD 27.1 billion) will be allocated for primary health care. Most of this amount will go to primary health care (polyclinics, outpatient clinics), and the rest will be spent on laboratory diagnostic tests to confirm the diagnosis in highly specialized centers. The entire population of the country, the minister noted, will have access to free consultations with a family doctor, therapist, pediatrician and a number of specialists, as well as laboratory and instrumental studies in clinics. In addition, in two medical centers it is planned to conduct a pilot program for the detection of colorectal cancer among citizens 55-75 years old.
• 3% of the health budget (AMD 5.7 billion), which is 26.2% more than in 2019, will be used to implement public health support programs.
• 7% of the healthcare budget (AMD 20.4 billion drams, 27.4% more than in 2019) will be directed to a program to preserve the health of mothers and children. For high-risk pregnant women, additional studies are planned to be introduced to help maintain some pregnancy. Mmore couples will be able to access assisted reproductive technology financing programs.
• 25% of the healthcare budget (AMD 27.1 billion) will be allocated to finance services provided to socially disadvantaged groups of the population, 47% more than last year.
• AMD 200 million are planned to be spent on organ transplantation programs: AMD 100 million - on kidney transplantation for people with chronic renal failure and another AMD 100 million - on bone marrow transplantation for people with malignant blood diseases
• According to the minister, it is planned to allocate 12.5% of the health budget to programs for the fight against noncommunicable diseases (AMD 13.7 billion, 34.4% more than in 2019).
• 4% (AMD 2.7 billion, 6% more than in 2019) will be allocated for the treatment of infectious diseases, including intestinal infections.
• According to the minister, AMD 3 billion will be spent on financing ambulance services - 1 billion more than last year.
• AMD 3 billion are planned to be directed to drug support programs that will cover 14 diseases instead of 12.
• AMD 503 million will be allocated for forensic, pathoanatomical services - 11% more than in 2019.

 But the budget for consultations, research, professional support fell from AMD 815 million drams to 317.6 - due to a significant reduction in financing the preservation of the e-health system.

The Minister also noted that it is planned to continue programs financed from external sources in 2020.